As grass-roots protests aimed at toppling authoritarian rulers sweep the Middle East, dysfunction has become the norm in much of the democratic world, where governments struggle with bankruptcy, violence and political paralysis from Washington to Rome to New Delhi.

A black man killed by police. Mobs of looters. Cities charred and shaken. The riots in London mirror some of the worst uprisings in modern U.S. history.

And there are more parallels: Stubborn poverty and high unemployment, services slashed due to recessionary budget cuts, a breakdown of social values, social media that bring people together for good or bad at the speed of the Internet.

And finally, there are a handful of actual attacks, isolated and hard to explain, by bands of youths in U.S. cities.

the order prohibits granting permission to Russian or foreign aircraft to use Russian Federation airspace during international flights if the aircraft in question intend to fly in Libyan airspace, are registered in Libya, belong to or are operated by Libyan individuals or legal entities, or if there is information giving grounds to believe that the aircraft will be used to deliver personnel or provide services related to military activity, including transporting armed mercenaries or weapons and related materials and equipment of any type. This ban shall not apply to aircraft flying exclusively for humanitarian purposes or making an emergency landing.

Furthermore, the order gives military vessels the power to inspect ships in the open sea, destined for or coming from Libya, if the Russian Federation has information giving grounds to believe that the ships in question are being used to transport personnel for military-related purposes, including transport of armed mercenaries, or are carrying cargoes that include goods, the sale, transport, and supply of which have been prohibited by Presidential Executive Order 286 of March 9, 2011.

The order also prohibits transactions involving money or financial assets belonging to Muammar Gaddafi’s close relatives, his entourage, and Libyan legal entities, and bans a number of individuals from entry to or transit through the Russian Federation.

Past demonstrations on such a scale in Israel have usually been over issues of war and peace but on Saturday rallies from Haifa and Afula in the north of the country to the resort town of Eilat in the far south all focussed on "social justice."